It took only a few minutes for Fu to find Heinkel, Pride's chi was apparently much stronger than Gluttony's, probably because he was the oldest. Edward was being cautious with Johanna this time and instead of her following behind him, she remained in front. She wasn't getting snatched from him again.

"What is that?" Johanna whispered, bringing Edward's attention to the treeline in front of him. "Is that a fire?!" Johanna hissed as the orange glow grew bigger.

"Oh no…" Edward groaned, taking off towards where the trees ended, Johanna quick at his heels. To her dismay she saw an injured Heinkel, in his Lion form, cornered by Pride and his sharp shadow. Pride sought his shadow on Heinkel, but before she had time to think, Edward darted out between Heinkel and Pride, deflecting his attack.

Here we go! Johanna thought, clapping and throwing her hands to the ground. Alchemy was a lot like riding a bike, in the way that even if you hadn't done it in a while, it was easy to remember how to do. She'd done some brushing up on her knowledge of the principle over the past few months, but applying it practically? They didn't have time. Any alchemy in North City was dangerous.

Her body surged with a power she hadn't felt in months, and she willed the earth forward, several pillars flying at an unsuspecting Pride. Her attack missed, but fortunately, it was enough of a distraction for Heinkel to be forgotten. Pride looked at Johanna with narrowed eyes. It was only then that Johanna got a good look at the small, frail body that held such a cunning Homunculus.

"Selim Bradley!" She gasped. Selim smirked at her, raising his piercing darkness to strike her down.

"Oh no you don't!" Edward growled, sending several mighty pillars of Earth towards Selim. "Your fight is right here!" Again the child dodged, but now he had Edward to contend with as he jumped into battle. While Edward engaged Pride, Johanna took this time to join Heinkel.

"What are you doing? It's not safe here!" Heinkel told her, wincing as he did.

"Shh!" Johanna shushed him, lifting his sleeve to look at his wound. It was deep, deeper than Johanna was comfortable with. The clanging of solid material meeting metal caught Johanna's attention and she turned to see Edward fighting back Pride's advances with his automail arm.

"You need to get out of here." Heinkel told her quietly. Again she shushed him, removing her jacket and tearing it into strips with his help.

"What, not confident in your teachings, sensei?" Johanna joked trying to lighten the mood. She tied the strips around his wounds tightly. "Can you still move it or is it too tight?" Heinkel flexed his arm a few times, showing it was wrapped okay, and Johanna grinned. Edward shouted from behind her as Pride sent several Shadow Spears at him, all of which were deflected by his arm.

"You know, I'm pretty glad I kept my northern automail. This Carbon Fiber amalgamate turned out to be pretty handy." Edward taunted. For the first time since laying her eyes on him, she saw that Pride was shaken. "What's the matter? Not giving up already, are you?" He continued after Pride said nothing.

Johanna froze as movement on the other side of the clearing caught her attention. Her mouth grew dry when the treeline broke, Alphonse's shell joined them in the clearing. Pride chuckled at his trick, his shadows retreating.

"You brought this on yourself." He sneered, shadows emerging from Alphonse's armor menacingly. Fortunately, Edward had been prepared for this. He expected Pride to use his brother against him, and on their way over him and Fu had devised a plan.

"We need LIGHT, OLD MAN!" Edward cried out in a frenzy. Fu flew from the treeline, jumping and tossing something small into the air. Whatever it was exploded brightly and Johanna winced, shielding her eyes with her hands.

During the flash, several things happened; the tendrils oozing from Alphonse's body had dissipated, disintegrating into the night until they no longer occupied him. Darius had arrived as well, no doubt finding his way because of the giant beacon overhead, catching Alphonse's empty body before it hit the ground. Heinkel, who was obviously recovered from his wounds, grabbed Johanna around the waist. He leapt across the field, dragging Johanna with him.

"Mr Gorilla, you have to get him out of here!" Edward told them from across the clearing. He spared Johanna a second glance before adding. "Johanna too."

"I don't think so!" She argued, shoving Heinkel's arms from around her waist.

"I can't carry them both," Darius told them, throwing Alphonse over his shoulder. "I'll be back for you!" He warned Johanna as he took off into the trees.

"You won't get away with this!" Pride roared, sending another wave of darkness towards them.

"Have another!" Fu shouted, tossing another flash bang in the air. With the added light, Johanna could see that Pride's tendrils we're disintegrating, just like Gluttony's body had at the train station when they were removed. Speaking of Gluttony, he also joined them in the clearing.

"You're pushing your luck." Pride warned them as Gluttony stood behind him. From the trees jumped both Lan Fan and Ling, the latter giving Johanna and Heinkel an appraising look before his attention returned to Pride. "They've really roughed you up." Pride told Gluttony over his shoulder.

"Yeah but only because Greed and that girl weren't fighting fair! They kept me in the dark!" Gluttony whined. The clearing again grew quiet, it's intensity stifling as every single person was on edge, ready to fight. The smell of smoke filled the air and Johanna could hear the fire crackling behind them. It was spreading, only to Pride's advantage. To her surprise, Pride turned away from them completely.

"Gluttony, how many times have they killed you now?" Pride asked him. Gluttony seemed thoughtful, counting on his fingers innocently before looking at his brother.

"I lost count, but I know it was a lot." Gluttony sniffed pitiful.

"They've beaten me up pretty badly as well. The way things are looking, there's a very good chance they may annihilate us." Pride purred. It was in this moment that Johanna realized what he was doing, as his small black tendrils twisted across the ground towards Gluttony.

Before Gluttony had any time to react, Pride's tendrils grabbed him in a fit of violence that Johanna was unprepared for. Forming a giant mouth, they dragged him into the sky, bisecting him.

"No Pride! Don't eat me! It hurts!" Gluttony cried as his top half dislodged from Pride's mouth. "Please help me!" His final criy echoed from the trees as he dropped to the ground. The small hands swarmed him, like piranhas do a carcass, picking at his body until his Philosopher Stone heart was exposed. Then they picked that clean too.

Johanna shuddered, losing her breath as the gravity of the scene hit her in a single, overwhelming wave. Gluttony was nowhere close to being her friend, but that violent outburst chilled her to the bone. And Pride watched emotionlessly as he ate his brother, piece by piece.

"He devoured him." Johanna sobbed, her knees weak. The display sickened every member of her party, even Ling, evidence as he produced his shield next to her, covering his arms.

"That's better." Pride grinned at them, taking a deep breath. "I can practically smell every move you make. I could do without the ravenous hunger, but I guess I'll just have to skate around that." another sniff and a pause, and he spoke again. "Oh, I know that smell. You're somewhere close by, aren't you Hoenhiem." Pride sneered, looking at Edward. "Tell me something, Edward. Do you think your father would save you if I chopped off one of your limbs?" He purred, sending a new wave of shadows at Edward. The boy dodged them, but it wasn't long until they'd cornered him up against a tree, the last one narrowly missing his face. Pride had him trapped, unable to move to either side, and sent another tendril his way, this one with a giant, gaping mouth attached to the end of it.

"Edward!" Johanna shouted, just as he dropped to the ground. The mouth swallowed the tree above him whole. Johanna sighed, relieved, but it didn't last long. Pride turned his attention to her, his evil grin increasing tenfold as he sent an onslaught of sharp tendrils her way.

"Look out!" Ling shouted, catching her around the waist and jumping between the pillars. The dark mouth flew at them and Ling tossed Johanna away. She landed, surprisingly, on her feet, sliding across the dirt. The mouth clamped shut around Ling's midsection, taking him high into the sky.

"Greedling!"

"Young Lord!" Her and Lan Fan shouted at the same time. The pair caught eyes momentarily before they jumped into action.

"Go!" Johanna clapped, placing her hands on the ground creating a rapid succession of pillars. Lan Fan jumped gracefully from pillar to pillar, until she reached Pride's dark jaw. She reached into her cloak, but something went wrong and instead of attacking Pride, she grabbed for her automail, in obvious pain. Pride, sensing her distress, chose to capitalize on that, and he sent a sharp dark tendril to catch her while she was unable to defend herself. "No!" Johanna roared, clapping again. With all of her will power, she urged her pillar forward, and it connected with Pride's tendrils. Her pillar wasn't enough to stop it, but it slowed him down enough that Lan Fan was able to get away by sliding down her alchemy. It was a less than graceful fall, but Johanna clocked her, catching her with a dirt hand. "Lan Fan! Flash Bang!" Johanna commanded. The girl, though injured, obeyed Johanna's command, tossing another flash bang into the air which lit the sky.

The tendril around Ling's midsection disappeared into the darkness, releasing him. Ling landed on his feet, clutching at his stomach. It sparked red momentarily, he didn't have a chance to fully raise his shield before he was snatched. Johanna ran to Lan Fan, helping her into a sitting position.

"Are you hurt?" Johanna asked her. Lan Fan winced.

"Something is wrong with my automail." She said. Above them several pillars and rocks flew, Edward had jumped in, grabbing Pride's attention. Ling approached them quickly, kneeling next to them.

"Nice save, Princess, Ninja Storm." He addressed them in turn.

"Ah, Greedling, always a pleasure." Johanna deadpanned.

"Greedling… it's you! The monster who took the Young Lord's body!" Lan Fan growled, tensing in Johanna's arm. "Return it to him!" Lan Fan was ready for a fight, but Johanna shushed her.

"You can't even lift your arm, much less fight an immortal, relax." She told Lan Fan before turning her attention to Greed. "You need to get her out of here. She can't fight." Johanna told him. To her surprise, Greedling nodded, taking Lan Fan into his arms, who only put up a minimal amount of fight before grabbing her automail arm in pain. she knew Johanna was right. "Wait!" Johanna stopped him before he took off. "Got anymore of those flash bangs?" She asked the Xingese ninja. Lan Fan nodded, retrieving one from her cloak. She handed it to Johanna with a single warning:

"When you throw it, make sure you throw it far." Before Greed took off into the darkness with him.

Across the battlefield, Johanna could see Master Fu helping Heinkel towards the sidelines. The lion man had sustained several more injuries since she'd last seen them.

Pride summoned forth his darkness, hurtling it towards Fu and Heinkel. To Johanna's surprise, Greedling had returned from removing Lan Fan from the battle, and he stepped between Pride and the older men. His shield was completely covering him now, his face menacing, as he shouted to the pair to get the hell out of there.

Another set of tendrils reared, rushing towards the men, but Johanna grabbed the Flash Bang tightly in her hands, pulling the pin and launching it as high into the air as she could. It exploded right next to Pride's darkness, causing it to retreat in pain, and she raised the ground beneath Heinkel and Fu like a wave, sending them surfing to the other side of the clearing.

"Johanna, move!" Edward called from several feet away. While she was helping Heinkel and Fu, Pride's darkness swarmed towards her, and she froze in it's sights. Edward skidded to a stop beside her, clapping and raising a wall between them and the homunculi's assault. Pride broke through it easily, swatting the pair across the clearing like flies.

The ground hit Johanna hard, skidding across the dirt and she screamed as it tore at her skin. Her ribs ached, she'd hit them the hardest. Edward groaned from beside her, he was also tossed to the side. He pulled himself onto his hands and knees, signalling to Johanna that he was more or less okay. Johana raised herself slowly to her elbows, just as Greed hit the ground beside the pair. He did not move nearly as fast to get up as they did.

"I can see you much better with the light." Pride taunted them. Johanna growled at him, she'd managed to pull herself onto her knees. Her ribs still ached, but she knew she could run if she had too, Edward was also up. She eyed Greed, he had pulled himself to his elbows finally, he'd probably need her help, if the time came that was the direction she was going. Around them, Pride's darkness swarmed, encircling them completely, ready to swallow them whole.

"You still breathing over there?" Greedling groaned.

"Are you?" Edward returned. Greed seemed to ponder that question for a moment, as he too got to his knees.

"This isn't really the time to be worrying about others is it, Greed?" Pride sneered. "As soft as you've become, I wonder how much longer you'll survive."

"Shut up, you beast!" Greed roared.

"What a horrific thing to say to your own brother, Greed." Pride feigned hurt. "I might have to eat you for that."

"I promise that I won't go down easy." He warned him. The two Homunculi stared each other down for what felt like forever before Pride's attention shifted behind them, sniffing back towards the woods. Johanna, despite their predicament, was thrilled to have these several seconds to catch her breath, and she dared a look over her shoulder. From the woods stepped Hoenhiem.

"Oh, so you've decided to join us, ey Hoenhiem?" Pride sneered.

"The hero always waits to make his move." Hoenhiem returned, slowly walking himself past the two teens and their Homunculus friend. Despite herself, Johanna rolled her eyes, and to her right Edward growled.

"Hero? You must think you can defeat me?" Pride laughed.

"No, I'd never think that. I'm not dumb enough to try and fight you." This time Hoenhiem heard growls from both boys, even Johanna glowered at him.

"You're not exactly winning any popularity points over here!" Johanna hissed. Neither Hoenhiem nor Pride acknowledged her, they continued to stare each other down like a couple of cowboys in a duel. Johanna could tell that they were sizing each other up, waiting for the other to move, but Hoenhiem didn't seem nearly as uneasy as Pride did. Whether that was just his personality or for some other reason, Johanna didn't know. Johanna sighed, relieved, as Pride's darkness receded into him, readying for Hoenhiem's attack.

Hoenhiem moved first, taking several steps forward, and as Pride readied himself to attack, something broke the treeline behind him. In the light of the fire, Johanna could see Alphonse rushing towards the fierce Homunculus. Instead of attacking Hoenhiem, Pride diverted his attention to Alphonse's assault, catching him just before the younger Elric reached him.

"This was your idea?" Pride laughed, pulling Alphonse to his knees. Edward jumped to his feet, running to help his brother, when Hoenhiem stopped him. The clearing went silent, Edward and Hoenhiem watching each other cooly. Pride continued. "It seems your son enjoys being held hostage. Either that or he's extremely stupid."

"That's crossing a line, Pride. Don't ever son!" Hoenhiem growled. The man sparked red, and Johanna cried out in fear as the energy shook the ground beneath her. Red sparks travelled the ground from Hoenhiem's feet towards Pride and Alphonse, cutting deep wounds into the earth. As the sparks cut across the ground, strips of solid earth raised itself into the sky, curling towards Pride and Alphonse with a speed that Johanna could barely follow.

The earth began to form a sphere, not unlike a snow globe, around the Homunculus, who was caught off guard by the attack. Through the ribbons of earth, Johanna saw Alphonse grab Pride into his chest, preventing the Homunculus from moving forward. "HOENHIIIIIIIEEEEEEEMMMM" Pride screeched, sending a tendril towards the Elric Patriarch. The tendril stopped just before it reached Hoenhiem's face, cut off by the earth dome closing around it, before it disintegrated.

The clearing was deathly quiet as Johanna stumbled to her feet, still hugging her ribs. She studied the dome with wide, panicked eyes, taking one step towards it before her feet began to carry them of their own volition.

"Alphonse!?" She cried out as Edward caught her shoulders, pulling her into his chest. Johanna struggled against him, still staring up at the monstrosity in a mix of confusion and panic. Hoenhiem just left Alphonse to die. How could he do that?!

"What the hell are you thinking?! Alphonse is trapped in there with that monster! How could you do something like that?!" Edward shouted, still holding her to him. He could feel her shaking, panicked.

"It wasn't my idea." Hoenhiem told them, his voice even. "Al was the one who suggested this."


the fire in the forest had spread much further than Johanna had thought. Not that'd she'd had time to worry about that while she was fighting for her life. Johanna and Edward had spent most of the night in silence putting out the fires after Hoenhiem had explained to them what the hell he was doing.

According to him, Alphonse had come the plan to seal Pride all on his own. Always the rational one, Alphonse knew that they could never defeat Pride the way that they were trying. He also knew that the slums would eventually be overtaken and the inhabitants slain. There was only one thing that they could do, create a diversion and trap him in darkness. It was a great plan, Alphonse wasn't human, he didn't have any immediate needs, he could sit in there with Pride for days, weeks, years even. But Johanna hated leaving him there. It tasted bad in her mouth.

It was nearly dawn before the last of the fire was put out. To no one's surprise but Johanna's, Greed had gone missing. With Edward's reluctant help, they spent almost an hour looking for him before calling it quits and returning to camp. Upon arriving, they were surprised by several "new" faces. Scar's party had joined them, learning of their movements through a separate grapevine, and once everyone was back, it was time to detail the fineties of their assault.

As the sun rose over the trees, Johanna felt a fire start in her belly, one that filled her body with courage. She turned to look at Edward, who stood beside where she sat on the fallen log. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, and she covered his hand with her own, squeezing it firmly. Johanna and Edward both knew that this day was the most important day of their lives. This was the day they saved the world. The Promised Day was here.